Business Directories

Taqa's Moroccan unit set to launch IPO

Abu Dhabi, December 3, 2013

Moroccan power firm Jorf Lasfar Energy Company (JLEC), which is owned by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), has got the go-ahead from Moroccan market watchdog CDVM for a share sale next week to raise 1.5 billion dirham ($176 million), the company said on Tuesday.

JLEC runs the largest coal-fired power plant in the Mena and is also the first independent power producer (IPP) in Morocco, supplying 38 per cent of the Kingdom's electricity. It has been valued at around 9 billion dirhams under the share offer.

The company will sell 2.25 million new shares in the offering at 447 dirhams each, raising about 1 billion dirhams, with the sale running from December 10 to 12.

The remaining 500 million dirhams to be raised has been agreed in a private deal with Moroccan institutional investors - RMA Watanya, SCR Maroc and MCMA, a statement released by the company said.

JLEC hired three Moroccan banks to manage the offer - Attijariwafa bank, the local unit of France's Societe Generale and Upline securities.

The offering would be the first in Morocco since January 2012 and could help revive Casablanca's stock market, which has suffered from the knock-on effects of the euro zone crisis and a lack of foreign investors.

JLEC is committed to a heavy investment plan for its power plant at Jorf Lasfar near the city of El Jadida on the Atlantic coast.

Earlier this year Taqa sealed a $1.4 billion financing deal with Japanese and Korean banks for its Moroccan subsidiary to increase the plant's capacity by 700 megawatts to 2065 MW.

The expansion of Jorf Lasfar will increase Moroccan apower generation capacity by more than 10 per cent.-Reuters